All posts by Heather Bellingham

Heather studied film at Humber College and English and Theatre at UTSC. She works as a stage manager, usually watching from the booth or lurking backstage. She has written for various websites since 2009. Unofficially, she’s also a total nerd with an obsession with sci fi TV series, fantasy novels, Dungeons and Dragons, and and video games. Follow her on Twitter at @bluealbow4eva.

Review: Hana’s Suitcase (Young People’s Theatre)

Hana’s Suitcase, on stage in Toronto, looks at the Holocaust from a child’s perspective

When a child’s suitcase arrives at the tiny Children’s Holocaust Centre in Tokyo, curator Fumiko Ishioka (played by Jennifer Villaverde) embarks on an extraordinary journey to uncover the story of Hana Brady (played by Caroline Toal) and her fate at the hands of the Nazis. Hana’s Suitcase, a true story – and originally a radio documentary and international best-selling book – opens the 50th anniversary season at Young People’s Theatre.  Continue reading Review: Hana’s Suitcase (Young People’s Theatre)

Review: The Supine Cobbler (It Could Still Happen)

Photo of The Supine Cobbler

The Supine Cobbler, playing in Toronto, takes a “non-judgmental” approach to abortion

Playing “out by the tracks” at 35 Strachan, It Could Still Happen‘s show The Supine Cobbler is timely. Earlier this week on Twitter, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion went viral, in response to the US House of Representatives voting to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, America’s largest women’s health care services provider. The fact that women still have to battle both stigma and legalities to have the right to decide what their own body does seem, frankly, outdated.

Continue reading Review: The Supine Cobbler (It Could Still Happen)

Review: Weather (Anandam Dance)

Louis Laberge-Cote in Weather

Weather, on stage in Toronto, blends augmented reality technology with dance

Yesterday I attended the preview of Anandam Dance’s Weather, an interdisciplinary work integrating dance with the emerging technology of ‘augmented reality’ for mobile devices. The piece was partially about ecology and climate change, and partially about how we see the world in modern times – including the natural world – through our mobile devices.

Continue reading Review: Weather (Anandam Dance)

Review: Trudeau and Levesque (VideoCabaret & Soulpepper)

Fast and funny Trudeau and Levesque takes to the stage in Toronto.

I’ve long been told that I needed to see a VideoCabaret show, and upon watching last night’s performance, I now know why they come so highly recommended. Trudeau and Levesque is a colourful, entertaining look at politics in Canada in the 70s and 80s, and worth watching whether or not you’re interested in the political scene.

Trudeau and Levesque is the second show in a series (the first being Trudeau and the FLQ, also currently running at Soulpepper) about former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau (splendidly played by Mac Fyfe). This show dramatizes the period between 1971 to 1982.

Continue reading Review: Trudeau and Levesque (VideoCabaret & Soulpepper)